Class Action Listings

Dying is easy, comedy is hard, says the old adage, but according to the "acting is easy" philosophy of the Barrow Group, maybe comedy isn't so tough, either. This theater company runs a midtown acting school and studio, offering instruction in script analysis, theatrical clowning, Shakespeare, and other subjects, as well as a formal two-year program. Graduates include Anne Hathaway, Vera Farmiga, and one of New York's theatrical treasures, Denis O'Hare. barrowgroup.org

Sure, you can take your fill of ballet, modern, tap, and theater dance, but those grand jetés, jazz hands, and ball changes probably won't impress at the club. (Unless, of course, you go to very particular clubs.) But Broadway Dance Center has your back. This revered Theater District studio offers all those, plus classes—for rank beginners or advanced artistes—in "Street Styles," a category including "Breakin'," "Funk," "House," and "Stiletto Heels." broadwaydancecenter.com

Fashion

If you've ever thought about replacing a button with a dab of glue or fixing a fallen hem with Scotch tape, it might be time to improve your way with a needle and thread. Sew Moni, a sewing and crafts company with locations in Williamsburg and Ridgewood, can help. They offer four-week sessions in beginning sewing and, for more experienced stitchers, seminars in lingerie, dress construction, children's clothing, and denim mending. sewmoni.bigcartel.com

These days, only the chilliest storms or hottest beach days really require headgear. But why should that stop you from crowning your crowning glory? This fall, the Textile Arts Center in Park Slope will offer an introductory course in "Millinery 101." Although the class focuses more on theory than practice, studio time is included for students to fashion a topper of their own. textileartscenter.com

Art

If you stood in line for an audience with Marina Abramovic during her stint at MOMA but didn't get to sit opposite, you might have another chance. In August, Long Island City's P.S.1 hosts its summer school, a free symposium for arts students. In addition to Abramovic, who will school students in the Abramovic Method, this summer's faculty includes Judson Dance Theater's Steve Paxton and Throbbing Gristle's Genesis Breyer P-Orridge. momaps1.org

It has been a while since the Harlem Renaissance, but uptown still hosts a thriving art scene, much of it centered on the Studio Museum in Harlem, a gallery devoted to artists of African descent. In addition to its exhibitions, the museum offers classes, talks, and explorations. Upcoming events include a walking tour of important sites of the Harlem Renaissance on September 29 and Uptown Fridays one evening per month, which include guided gallery tours and cocktails. studiomuseum.org

For Children and Teens

The screaming, the sulking, the nighttime incontinence—ah, the hilarity of children. But if you think your offspring have real comic chops, you can sign them up for nine-week workshops at Kids 'N Comedy on the Upper West Side. In these sessions, beginning September 22, youths learn "to write, workshop, and perform your very own stand-up routine at the world-famous Gotham Comedy Club." Let's hope they don't teach the tweens to work blue. kidsncomedy.com

It can be a real hassle getting kids to wash dishes. So why not encourage them to dirty them instead? Creative Kitchen, with two locations in the financial district and two in the Flatiron, attempts to turn your tot into a nascent gourmet. These classes, designed for children ages two to five, teach a hands-on approach to good-for-you foods with attention also paid to colors, numbers, and shapes. And at the end of class, you and your progeny get to eat your efforts. thecreativekitchen.com

Film/Video

Perhaps you thought the camera function on your iPhone existed only for snapping pictures of cute cats and decadent cheeseburgers. Brooklyn's Pratt encourages you to think again. "Handheld Filmmaking: Your Story—Inside and Out" teaches students how to film stories with just their iPhones (or digital cameras or "flipcams"); how to edit those stories; and how to upload them to platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo. Now if you can only get your cat or your cheeseburger to take direction. pratt.edu

"Movies are a fad," Charlie Chaplin insisted. "Audiences really want to see live actors." We would never contradict the Little Tramp, but this fad seems particularly enduring. If you'd like to get in on the trend before it passes, you might consider the workshops hosted by Mono No Aware film school in Williamsburg. Dedicated to film—as opposed to digital video—Mono No Aware offers courses in 16mm, Super 8mm, animation, and various processing techniques. Classes culminate in a screening party. mononoawarefilm.com

Food and Drink

The emperor Nero enjoyed a good fire, but he liked to cool off, too: The invention of ice cream is sometimes attributed to his reign. If you'd like to see how Italian ice cream has improved over the past two millennia, you can enroll in workshops at Mia Gelato in Murray Hill. Weekday and weekend sessions instruct you in the arts of gelato- and sorbet-making, with vegan options covered, too. Homework: scarfing the four different pints you produce. gelatomia.com

"Good men drink good beer," said Hunter S. Thompson, a fellow who had some experience of intoxicants. If you'd like to become better, Prospect Heights has just seen the launch of Bitter & Esters, a storefront designed to help you hop to it. Its slogan: "See what you can brew." Classes for novices include Brewshop 101: Home-Brewing Essentials; offerings for pros will include all-grain brewing, brewing chemistry, and yeast lectures. bitterandesters.com

Health/Body/Wellness

Has downward dog got you down, or does child's pose only leave you feeling cranky? If your yoga practice needs a lift, perhaps it's time to try aerial yoga at YogaWorks on the Upper West Side. While suspending yourself from cloth bolts that resemble brightly colored hammocks, you'll complete your practice as though hanging from a soft trapeze. Other opportunities to shake up your sun salutations include Candle Yoga, Dance Flow, Sculptworks, and Urban Zen. yogaworks.com

Has downward dog got you down, or does child's pose only leave you feeling cranky? If your yoga practice needs a lift, perhaps it's time to try aerial yoga at YogaWorks on the Upper West Side. While suspending yourself from cloth bolts that resemble brightly colored hammocks, you'll complete your practice as though hanging from a soft trapeze. Other opportunities to shake up your sun salutations include Candle Yoga, Dance Flow, Sculptworks, and Urban Zen. yogaworks.com

Having your flesh pierced with needles isn't everyone's idea of a good time, but it's one of the few alternative therapies that mainstream medicine accepts as effective. If you have an unusual degree of pin-terest, you can take acupuncture classes at the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine's midtown location. Students can also attend courses and workshops in tongue and pulse diagnosis, herbology, and "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine." nyctcm.edu

Computers

You can now find applications for checking flights, making dinner reservations, finding bathrooms, creating virtual voodoo dolls, altering your voice, scanning your fingerprints, identifying the phases of the moon, or antagonizing those furious birds. "There's an app for that" has become a cultural meme. But what if there isn't yet? Cooper Union might have the answer. In the fall, it will offer a course in "Building Apps for Mobile Devices," covering programming, as well as financing and marketing. cooperunion.augusoft.net

Computers boast increasingly impressive speeds, memories, and capabilities. But when was the last time your laptop told you a good joke or mixed you a really innovative cocktail? If you'd like to encourage your PC to behave more creatively, you can bring it to some of the continuing-education offerings at the School of Visual Arts. The computer-arts department includes classes in desktop publishing, Web design, motion graphics, and computer animation, as well as basic operations for Mac and Windows. sva.edu

Crafts

Are you finding adulthood insufficiently playful? Do you long for the entertainments of early youth? Perhaps the Fashion Institute of Technology can help. In the fall, its School of Continuing and Professional Studies will offer a class in toy design. This introduction to the discipline will prepare you for more advanced courses in game design, model-making, hard-toy design, and soft-toy design. Dolls, too. Some drawing skills are needed. Sounds plush! fitnyc.edu

Oh, that sinking feeling when you step into the L train or take a stroll down Graham Avenue only to realize that someone else is already wearing the ironic T-shirt you thought was so unique. Happily, the young men at the Brooklyn Treasury in Williamsburg have a solution. On September 22, Justin Horowitz will teach a workshop on the process of silk-screening your own T-shirts. Although you won't have a chance to make a shirt of your own during the two-hour class, you're invited to take home one of theirs at the end. brooklyntreasury.com

Writing

Benjamin Franklin advised us to either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. If the former seems more attractive to you, you can do our founding father proud with a six-week seminar at the Manhattan Writers' Den on the Upper West Side. Through a combination of lecture, discussion, and supervised in-class writing, students learn "story craft," "the creative process," "universal plot forms," and "self-coaching and self-editing." themanhattanwritersden.com

Languages

Learning Latin won't help you navigate a menu in a foreign country, and ancient Greek isn't any use for charming cute tourists. But if you want to enroll in graduate programs in ancient history, art history, philosophy, religion, or medieval studies, or merely impress your friends during Rome and Spartacus reruns, Columbia University's School of Continuing Education proffers a Classics Certificate program, offering intensive language instruction and extracurricular activities and events. ce.columbia.edu

Sports

If you're like most New Yorkers, your idea of a dive is a dimly lit bar with sticky floors and $3 PBR. But if you're looking for a loftier and more sober alternative, you can consider weekday lessons and weekend clinics at the New York Diving Club. Based at Fordham University in the Bronx, the club boasts three-meter springboards, one-meter springboards, and a trampoline and spotting rig to practice those somersaults and twists.

In recent years, Rockaway Beach has become a haven for hipster tacos and fashion-forward swimwear. But it is also, apparently, a repository for bitchin' waves, or at least the small rolling ones that are ideal for beginners. If you're eager to hang 10, take the train out to Queens for instruction at the Surf School, which offers one- and two-hour lessons, or for the more dedicated boarder, full-day, half-week, and full-week classes. Surfboard and wetsuit are included. surflessonsnewyork101.com

Nature

If you're a Brooklyn resident, you might already know Prospect Park for its meadows, its rambles, its playing fields, its skating rinks, and its boating lake. But did you know it's also a food source? Leda Meredith, author of The Locavore's Bible and an expert in food preservation, will lead a foraging tour of the park on September 15 and teach students how to spot and enjoy local wild edibles. Plus, on October 7, foraging instruction will conclude with dinner at the Farm on Adderley in Ditmas Park. ledameredith.net

More than 400 species of birds have been documented in the Empire State. If you're an aspiring twitcher who still has difficulty differentiating your greater scaup from your lesser, the New York City Audubon Society offers various classes and events to help you identify our feathered fellows. Late-summer and early autumn offerings include fall warblers, migration walks, a sunset peek at the Brother islands, and an exploration of the Bronx River by rowboat. nycaudubon.org

Photography

National Geographic hosts photography expeditions to such wild places as Bhutan, Alaska's Inside Passage, Galapagos, Mongolia, and our own New York City. If you'd like to capture our local exoticism via digital snaps, you can register for a staycation photography weekend in October. In addition to participating in intimate sessions on technique, students will frame such sights as Ground Zero, Central Park, and a sunset as seen from Rockefeller Center.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/p>

You can say this for shrubs, roses, and conifers: Barring a strong breeze, they're not inclined to fidget. This makes them excellent subjects for the budding shutterbug, a phenomenon on which the Bronx's New York Botanical Garden capitalizes in its various photography courses. Newbies can start shooting assorted flora in "Digital Camera Basics," while more advanced snappers can explore classes in processing and troubleshooting. nybg.org

Miscellaneous

A man's home is his castle. But what to do when you need the moat drained or the arrow slits repaired, and you don't have a throng of serfs around to accomplish it? The New York City College of Technology might have the answer. Its Continuing Studies Center offers home-design and home-repair classes designed to teach you "Everyday Electricity," "Basic Plumbing," and "Plaster and Sheetrock Repair." But what to do about those crumbling crenellations? citytechce.org